Byline: David Derbyshire
THEY may enhance your performance on the pitch but energising sports drinks won't do the same for your winning smile, scientists say.
Some juices and squashes are so acidic they can weaken the teeth in just a few mouthfuls, research has revealed.
And scientists have warned that taking regular sips during one day is enough to damage the surface of a tooth. The effects are even worse if you brush your teeth straight after taking a swig.
Popular names such as Powerade, Gatorade, Vitamin Water, SoBe Water and Propel Fit Water were all found to cause dental damage.
This latest research follows a sharp rise in the popularity of sports drinks. High in sugars and acids, they are designed to replace minerals and liquid lost during exercise while boosting the athlete's energy.
But past studies have shown that many are more corrosive than cola.
Their ingredients can pose threats to healthy teeth - mainly the citric and ascorbic acid used for flavouring and to prevent the drink going off.
Acid erodes the tooth's enamel coating and trickles into the bonelike material underneath, softening the tooth.
If left untreated it can cause severe damage - and even tooth loss, the New York University researchers found.
Professor Mark Wolff, who led the study, said: 'This is the first time that the citric acid in sports drinks has been linked to erosive tooth wear.'
His team studied the effects of a sports drink on cows' teeth, which closely resemble human teeth.
Half a tooth was dipped in a sports drink, the other in water.
'Five teeth were immersed in each drink for 75 to 90 minutes to simulate the effects of sipping on sports drinks over the course of the day,' said Dr Wolff.
When compared, the fragment exposed to sports drink had a 'significant amount' of erosion and softening, they told the annual meeting of the International Association for Dental Research, in Miami.
Brushing teeth immediately after having a drink can make the problem even worse, as the softened enamel is much more vulnerable to the abrasive chemicals found in toothpaste. In 2004, it emerged that fizzy drinks double the chances of a 14-year-old suffering tooth erosion.
Erosion is in fact more serious than tooth decay. Decay occurs when sugar reacts with bacteria in plaque to attack the areas between, or on top of, teeth.
Meanwhile, erosion happens when the smooth, hard enamel is stripped by acids, exposing dentine, the substance that makes up the bulk of a tooth, or even its root.
Lucozade Sport said: 'Sports drinks are functional drinks designed to keep people hydrated and refuelled during exercise. To avoid any dental issues we advise that it is not sipped or swilled around the mouth, but swallowed quickly.'
And a spokesman for Gatorade's Sports Science Institute added: 'This study does not replicate real life as the teeth were studied outside of the mouth.
'Ohio State University conducted a real-life study, the most comprehensive to date, and concluded that there is no relationship between the consumption of sports drinks and dental erosion.'
reporter@dailymail.ie
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Good or bad?: A popular sports drink
